Image from Unicef Website

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reiterated the need for the country to adopt an e-birth registration exercise towards effective planning, execution and socioeconomic development of the nation.

The Chief of UNICEF field office for South West, Celine Lafoucriere stated this while giving her remarks during the opening of a media dialogue on e-birth registration in Lagos on Tuesday.

The event was held in collaboration with the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Socia Development and the National Population Commission (NPC).

She explained UNICEF  is committed to ensuring that every child gets legal identity, which she said is a fundamental right of the children, adding that e-birth registration would help eliminate challenges being faced by parents in registering their children.

According to her, the media dialogue was held to achieve the drive for effective sensitization and advocacy on the need for parents and nursing mothers to register their children.

The UNICEF child protection specialist, Denis Onoise said the e-birth registration would help the country in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 16.9 by 2030 which entails providing legal identity for all including free birth registration.

According to Onoise, UNICEF is targeting over nine million children under five years and over four million children under one in e-birth registration by the end of 2024.

On his part, the Lagos state director of NPC, Bamidele Sadiku said the e-birth registration would help the country to link the civil registration and vital statistics system with that of the National Identity Management for robust data storage.

He revealed that the re-birth registration would enable policymakers to capture the children in their social services in the areas of healthcare, safety, and education among others.

The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development, Mrs Toyin Oke-Oyanyintolu said the e-birth registration would afford the state governments the necessary data and statistics of children for adequate planning and implementation of programmes and policies.

Represented by the Director of Public Affairs in the ministry, Mrs Adeola Adebisi, she commended UNICEF and the NPC for the collaboration, saying the administration of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu is determined to prioritize the safety and inclusion of the children in its developmental programs.